Posted on 12/21/2022 9:25:36 PM PST by blueplum
Police Chief Bradley Wendt had a long shopping list for his department in Adair, Iowa. Between 2018 and 2022, he requested around 90 firearms, including rifles, submachine guns and a .50-caliber belt-fed machine gun, an indictment alleges.
Prosecutors say Adair’s police department never staffed more than three full-time officers during that period...
Wendt is accused of using the weapons, some of which prosecutors say he obtained through a gun store that he also owns, for his own personal gain...
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.com ...
Would I be wrong if I guessed which party he voted for?
And I thought it was a big deal when Dalworthington Gardens (Texas y’all) provided all patrol vehicles with H&K MP5’s back in the 90’s.
If you can afford the toys, why not?
I do doubt he paid the NFA tax on the full auto stuff.
Yeah, I bet they really needed an M-2 to control the less than 800 people of Adair Iowa. I bet they are a seething mass of evildoers.
I’ll bet that or something like that arrangement happens a lot all over the country. If there is no incident linked to the weapons, this kind of bartering could continue for many years.
6 bucks a round for .50 caliber at Cheaper Than Dirt...
They are all probably Republicans, so we know that he was under-armed still.
Nor market value with the military offering surplus (under GAO rules) to PD’s at discounts to get them off their books.
Was that wrong? Should he have not done that?
In the 90’s it was less that $1 per round at Sportsman Guide for belts with tracers & AP.
I see that the BATFE pogrom against small gun dealers continues.
This is one of those areas where ATF “Agents” are pretty much free to make their own determination of what is “Lawful” or not.
Lots of “Discretion” and poorly written “Law” makes staying legit while trying to be profitable much harder than it should be.
The FOPA 922r screw job created a situation where some dealers have a very distinct advantage over others.
Being able to write his own Demo Letters, and write them for others, would make him very popular.
BATFE clamped down on perfectly legal Demo Letters several years ago.
They are now another political arm of the gun grabbing Dems, they are not “Law Enforcement”.
It is natural to use all available business advantage, that is not a crime in free America.
And I am jealous of his .50 equipped Hummer!
(Okay, just the .50, not really a fan of the Hummer)
Hope not...
“:^)
Let me get this straight. The guy is the Police Chief and a gun store owner (which means he has an FFL) and buys guns for his department and he's accused of using the weapons.
I can somewhat see the personal gain aspect but how is a Police Chief using department weapons an accusation of any wrongdoing? lol
A little disconcerting to imagine that the local popo might be shooting at bad guys with a full auto .50 BMG though. That could really do some collateral damage on Main Street.
read a little further - he was buying them from himself (his gun store) then turning around and selling them to others - that’s the crime
As an FFL/SOT he only has to pay the tax on Form 4 arms.
The article seems to claim he was dealing in Post-86 “Sample” arms which would not be (Unconstitutionally!) taxed.
The Fed Firearms Laws are almost too complex for an individual to fully understand and are constantly changing.
BATFE changes their “Rulings”, congress meddles, even Trump screwed up with his “Bump stock ban” EO.
I am sure there are very few here who really know the in’s and out’s of these allegations.
OK, then why did the article have to state that he was “accused of using the weapons?”
Seems entirely superfluous to the actual charges.
Trading in the departments old weapons for new is not a crime.
Nearly every department does it, or used to before it become too PC to scrap them. (Thus wasting many thousands of the taxpayers dollars).
His department is really small, so yes he is taking an advantage of the nuances of BATFE regulations.
But so long as he did not misappropriate or commingle department money there is no legitimate crime.
Seems his real “Crime” is making a profit using the rules as written rather than just submitting to the new order.
Without being on the Jury I do not know enough to be certain, but ATF is very fond of sticking it to small dealers to create their desired “Precedent” in an effort to tighten their grip and put more dealers out of business.
Yeah, I remember it being about a buck a round, which is why I was surprised at the CTD price.
If I knew a cop car had an MP5 in it, I would steal the car.
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